Last week I received my USAA monthly magazine sent to account holders. The main topic was whether people believe they will ever get to retire.
I took this hot question to Troy Buder, the Founder & President of Tri Pillar Investments, LLC — a boutique Registered Investment Advisory firm which specializes in working with members of the Medical and Academic communities including Duke University, Wake Forest, UNC Chapel Hill, NC State, Emory and UCLA.
Damien Hoffman: Troy, a lot of people lost a lot of money in the recent few market busts. The cost of energy, food, and medical care is inflating. What are you telling clients who fear they may never retire?
Troy Buder: First we must look at three factors that encompass anybody’s retirement lifestyle: time, contributions, and rate of return. Time is how much time they are going to work.
Here is an example of the importance of time. We work with physicians who make a lot of money, but many of them specialize and don’t get out of school until they’re 38 or 39 years old. So, they’ve deprived themselves for a long time. Then, all of a sudden, they’re making some good money. However, they’re making $300,000 but spending $350,000 At age 50, they wake up and say, “Oh, my gosh. I haven’t even planned for my retirement. I have only 15 years to go.” Thus, time is something to consider much earlier.
Click here to read the full interview with Troy Buder by Damien Hoffman
